An estimated 300 thousand Cuban faithful filled Havana’s Revolution Square for
an open air Mass presided over by Pope Benedict XVI on the final day of his visit
to the Americas. Philippa Hitchen was among them and sends us this report:
On
a trip to the Cuban capital a few years back, the granddaughter of author Ernest Hemingway
was heard to remark that Cuba has three icons: Che Guevara, Fidel Castro and her grandfather.
Certainly the American author and journalist is still revered around here with hotels,
bars and restaurants named after him and his medal for the 1954 Nobel prize for literature
kept safely inside the shrine of Our Lady of El Cobre, where he left it as a sign
of his love for the Cuban people.
Images of the country’s two revolutionary
leaders are also to be found everywhere around Havana, including the famous black
portraits silhouetted on the front of the Interior Ministry in Revolution Square where
Pope Benedict celebrated Mass on at the end of his visit to Cuba. The square, made
famous by Fidel’s political rallies, was filled with hundreds of thousands of faithful
who’d come from all over Cuba, as well as from the United States, to join the Pope
in praying for a new kind of revolution here – one that will change hearts, promote
peace and set people free.
In his homily Pope Benedict spoke of faith and reason
as the two keys for those who pursue the truth – anyone who acts irrationally, he
said, cannot become a disciple of Christ. Returning to a central theme of this short
visit to Cuba, the Pope stressed that in order to carry out her mission in pursuit
of that truth, the Church here must be able to enjoy more freedom to proclaim and
celebrate the faith in public and to promote reconciliation, through education and
other social services.
Recalling in particular the legacy of Fr Felix Varela,
a 19th century Cuban writer, teacher and human rights defender, Pope Benedict
said Cuba and the world must change for the benefit of all people here.
Many
of those gathered in Revolution square will remember similar words spoken by Pope
John Paul II on his historic visit to the island 14 years ago – a visit that has been
immortalized in statues and pictures of the previous Pope in Churches and shrines
around the country. On his visit to the basilica of Our Lady of Charity, patron of
the Cuban people, Pope Benedict stood outside between twin statues of his predecessor
and Fr Varela, who will soon be on the road to sainthood. Three new icons perhaps
for a Church and a nation longing for a brighter future of peace, prosperity and freedom.
Below the text of Pope Benedict XVI’s Homily at Mass in Revolution Square,
Havana
Dear Brothers and Sisters, “Blessed are you, Lord God…,
and blessed is your holy and glorious name” (Dan 3:52). This hymn of blessing
from the Book of Daniel resounds today in our liturgy, inviting us repeatedly to bless
and thank God. We are a part of that great chorus which praises the Lord without
ceasing. We join in this concert of thanksgiving, and we offer our joyful and confident
voice, which seeks to consolidate the journey of faith in love and truth. “Blessed
be God” who gathers us in this historic square so that we may more profoundly enter
into his life. I feel great joy in being here with you today to celebrate Holy Mass
during this Jubilee Year devoted to Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre. I greet with
cordial affection Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, Archbishop of Havana, and I thank
him for the kind words which he has addressed to me on your behalf. I extend warm
greetings to the Cardinals and to my brother Bishops of Cuba and other countries who
wished to take part in this solemn celebration. I also greet the priests, seminarians,
men and women religious, and all the lay faithful gathered here, as well as the civil
authorities who join us. In today’s first reading, the three young men persecuted
by the Babylonian king preferred to face death by fire rather than betray their conscience
and their faith. They experienced the strength to “give thanks, glorify and praise
God” in the conviction that the Lord of the universe and of history would not abandon
them to death and annihilation. Truly, God never abandons his children, he never
forgets them. He is above us and is able to save us by his power. At the same time,
he is near to his people, and through his Son Jesus Christ he has wished to make his
dwelling place among us in. “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (Jn 8:31).
In this text from today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals himself as the Son of God the Father,
the Saviour, the one who alone can show us the truth and give genuine freedom. His
teaching provokes resistance and disquiet among his hearers, and he accuses them of
seeking to kill him, alluding to the supreme sacrifice of the Cross, already imminent.
Even so, he exhorts them to believe, to keep his word, so as to know the truth which
redeems and dignifies. The truth is a desire of the human person, the search for
which always supposes the exercise of authentic freedom. Many, however, prefer shortcuts,
trying to avoid this task. Some, like Pontius Pilate, ironically question the possibility
of even knowing what truth is (cf. Jn 18:38), proclaiming that man is incapable
of knowing it or denying that there exists a truth valid for all. This attitude, as
in the case of scepticism and relativism, changes hearts, making them cold, wavering,
distant from others and closed. They, like the Roman governor, wash their hands and
let the water of history drain away without taking a stand. On the other hand,
there are those who wrongly interpret this search for the truth, leading them to irrationality
and fanaticism; they close themselves up in “their truth”, and try to impose it on
others. These are like the blind scribes who, upon seeing Jesus beaten and bloody,
cry out furiously, “Crucify him!” (cf. Jn 19:6). Anyone who acts irrationally
cannot become a disciple of Jesus. Faith and reason are necessary and complementary
in the pursuit of truth. God created man with an innate vocation to the truth and
he gave him reason for this purpose. Certainly, it is not irrationality but rather
the yearning for truth which the Christian faith promotes. Each human being has to
seek the truth and to choose it when he or she finds it, even at the risk of embracing
sacrifices. Furthermore, the truth which stands above humanity is an unavoidable
condition for attaining freedom, since in it we discover the foundation of an ethics
on which all can converge and which contains clear and precise indications concerning
life and death, duties and rights, marriage, family and society, in short, regarding
the inviolable dignity of the human person. This ethical patrimony can bring together
different cultures, peoples and religions, authorities and citizens, citizens among
themselves, and believers in Christ and non-believers. Christianity, in highlighting
those values which sustain ethics, does not impose, but rather proposes Christ’s invitation
to know the truth which sets us free. The believer is called to offer that truth
to his contemporaries, as did the Lord, even before the dark omen of rejection and
the Cross. The personal encounter with the one who is Truth in person compels us to
share this treasure with others, especially by our witness. Dear friends, do not
hesitate to follow Jesus Christ. In him we find the truth about God and about mankind.
He helps us to overcome our selfishness, to rise above our ambitions and to conquer
all that oppresses us. The one who does evil, who sins, becomes a slave of sin and
will never attain freedom (cf. Jn 8:34). Only by renouncing hatred and our
hard and blind hearts will we be free and a new life will well up in us. Convinced
that it is Christ who is the true measure of man, and knowing that in him we find
the strength needed to face every trial, I wish to proclaim openly Jesus Christ as
the way, the truth and the life. In him everyone will find complete freedom, the light
to understand reality more deeply and to transform it by the renewing power of love. The
Church lives to make others sharers in the one thing she possesses, which is none
other than Christ, our hope of glory (cf. Col 1:27). To carry out this duty,
she must count on basic religious freedom, which consists in her being able to proclaim
and to celebrate her faith also in public, bringing to others the message of love,
reconciliation and peace which Jesus brought to the world. It must be said with joy
that in Cuba steps have been taken to enable the Church to carry out her essentialmission of expressing her faith openly and publicly. Nonetheless, this must continue
forwards, and I wish to encourage the country’s Government authorities to strengthen
what has already been achieved and advance along this path of genuine service to the
true good of Cuban society as a whole. The right to freedom of religion, both
in its private and in its public dimension, manifests the unity of the human person,
who is at once a citizen and a believer. It also legitimizes the fact that believers
have a contribution to make to the building up of society. Strengthening religious
freedom consolidates social bonds, nourishes the hope of a better world, creates favourable
conditions for peace and harmonious development, while at the same time establishing
solid foundations for securing the rights of future generations. When the Church
upholds this human right, she is not claiming any special privileges for herself.
She wishes only to be faithful to the command of her divine founder, conscious that,
where Christ is present, mankind becomes more human and founds its consistency. This
is why the Church seeks to give witness by her preaching and teaching, both in catechesis
and in schools and universities. It is greatly to be hoped that the moment will soon
arrive when, here too, the Church can bring to the arenas of knowledge the benefits
of the mission which the Lord entrusted to her and which she can never neglect. A
shining example of this commitment was the outstanding priest Félix Varela, educator
and teacher, an illustrious son of this city of Havana, who has taken his place in
Cuban history as the first one who taught his people how to think. Father Varela
offers us a path to a true social transformation: to form virtuous men and women in
order to forge a worthy and free nation, for this transformation depends on man’s
spiritual life, in as much as “there is no authentic fatherland without virtue” (Letters
to Elpidio, Letter 6, Madrid 1836, 220). Cuba and the world need change, but
this will occur only if each one is in a position to seek the truth and chooses the
way of love, sowing reconciliation and fraternity. Invoking the maternal protection
of Mary Most Holy, let us ask that each time we participate in the Eucharist we will
also become witnesses to that charity which responds to evil with good (cf. Rom
12:51), offering ourselves as a living sacrifice to the one who lovingly gave himself
up for our sake. Let us walk in the light of Christ who alone can destroy the darkness
of error. And let us beg him that, with the courage and strength of the saints, we
may be able, without fear or rancour but freely, generously and consistently, to respond
to God. Amen.